Queen's speech

Gordon Brown hit out at claims that the last Queen's speech before the election was motivated by party politics. David Cameron accused the prime minister of trying to set out "dividing lines" in the last programme of legislation before the poll.

But Brown told MPs that the measures included in the Queen's speech were "not in the party interest but in the national interest".

Cameron dismissed the speech as "just a Labour press release on Palace parchment".

Brown listed proposals in the speech, including new rights for thousands of elderly people, the first ever digital economy bill, the first ever legislation to abolish child poverty, for pupils the first guarantee to catch-up tuition, making parents responsible for children's antisocial behaviour, an equality bill, the banning of cluster bombs and action on bank bonuses.

But Charles Clarke, the former Labour minister, said his party was "dominated by political fear" and the speech would make it more difficult to win the election. He attacked so-called "dividing lines" in the legislative programme, suggesting they made it "difficult" for him to support it. Attempting to enshrine goals and targets in legislation, as proposed in the children, schools and families bill, owed "less to good government than to a premature expectation of defeat".

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, attacked the "fantasy" of a speech from a government that had "run out of road in a parliament that has lost the people's trust".

He instead demanded an "emergency programme of political reform" of a parliament that had "destroyed its own legitimacy" following the expenses scandal.

Afghanistan

Cameron demanded a military "surge" in Afghanistan, warning that the status quo was no longer acceptable. He also called for the appointment of a "strong international figure" to drive forward coalition policy.

Brown said efforts were being made to ensure Afghan and Nato forces took up their share of the burden. He told MPs that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, had committed a further 5,000 troops to hold territory captured by British forces.

Brown paid tribute to the "outstanding and selfless contribution of all those who serve in our armed forces, particularly those who serve in Afghanistan. They fight on foreign soil so that we will be safer on British streets."

Graduates

The prime minister announced that all new graduates still out of work after six months would have access to a "high quality" internship, training or help to become self-unemployed. He set out a series of measures to help the young unemployed. Thousands of young people who have been unemployed for less than a year are now set to benefit from a guaranteed job or training, he added.

Climate change

Brown called for "vision and resolve" from countries around the world to achieve a climate change deal at next month's crunch talks in Copenhagen. He said setting intermediate targets and agreeing funds for developing countries were the two main stumbling blocks ahead of the UN summit. Brown added that he hoped an "ambitious and comprehensive" agreement would be reached.

Gary McKinnon

Keith Vaz, the chairman of the home affairs select committee, said computer hacker Gary McKinnon ought to be given a job rather than extradited to the US.

He told the Commons that McKinnon showed intelligence "far beyond what anyone could imagine" when he hacked into American military networks – which could be put to good use.

Lords

The government was warned that the Queen's speech programme was a "fantasy" and much of it was unlikely to reach the statute book. Lord Strathclyde, the leader of the Conservative peers, said that "rushed law" was generally "botched law" and the Tories would "wave nothing through unless such urgency is overwhelmingly in the national interest".

Lady Royall of Blaisdon, the leader of the Lords, said the choice people faced at the next election, between "change of the right kind" and "change of the wrong kind", would be "spelt out" during this parliamentary session.